Nook: Biscuits rise and shine at breakfast spot

Biscuits weren’t even the star attraction at Nook when Aki Woodward and her partner Alex Green opened this aptly named cubby hole of a breakfast cafe two years ago on The Ave, in Seattle’s University District. The restaurant originally sold lunch sandwiches, with homemade buttermilk biscuits offered as a side item in the mornings. The biscuits were an instant hit and a new, breakfast-only concept for the space was born.

Woodward, who runs Nook mostly on her own now, recently trimmed the breakfast offerings in part because she’s the only person in the tiny kitchen. She makes the biscuits, gravies and breakfast sandwiches herself, and when her supply of biscuits sells out — as it often does on Saturday mornings as shoppers at the nearby University District Farmer’s Market make a pit stop at Nook — she closes early.

As part of the revamp this winter, Nook started sharing the space with Sound Coffee, run by the affable Kekoa Chin-Hidano.

The menu: Don’t expect an extensive breakfast menu. This is a biscuit joint that doesn’t try to be anything more. The biscuit sandwich ($5.50) comes with egg, cheese, bacon and tomato jam. Order it smothered in gravy ($7) or add house-pickled jalapeños for 75 cents extra. Biscuits and gravy ($6) comes with either a sausage or mushroom-based gravy. Plain buttermilk biscuits ($3) as well as savory and sweet biscuits ($3.35) can be ordered a la carte with a selection of spreads.

What to write home about: It’s hard to improve on a really good buttermilk biscuit, but Nook ups the ante with flavored versions, which can be substituted on sandwiches as well. I opted for the day’s special when I visited — a deliciously moist and buttery biscuit with cheddar cheese and chives baked in.

The setting: The cozy storefront space, located right on The Ave, has tables for those who want to dine in.

Summing up: Two biscuit sandwiches and an Americano came to $13.75 plus tip (tax included in prices).

Tyrone Beason: tbeason@seattletimes.com

Tyrone Beason: tbeason@seattletimes.com. Tyrone Beason is a staff reporter for Pacific NW magazine. To generate story ideas, he enjoys picking the brains of interesting strangers and knocking on doors without an appointment.